With the discovery of gunpowder and rifles in 623 AU, Berma was able to stave off and push back the Westwardens during the Eighth Barbarians Invasion, a feat which had never been accomplished before. Convinced by his people's new power, and depressed by the loss of his beloved son, King Juilus Narvineous rallied Berma to war with their southern neighbors, Farqual. Farqual, lacking its own official army, was taken aback by the Bermans and their soldier's new weaponry. Briggham soon fell under their might, taken aback by the mystery of the rifle's sudden appearance. The rest of the Farqual shortly followed and King Juilus named himself an Emperor because of Berma's new status as a conqueror.

With the Pale Reach still in chaos with bandits and highwaymen, Emperor Juilus wisely chose to avoid their territory and instead made his advance into Avalot. This brought Berma into immediate conflict with the Court of Nobles, with King Leon Dacre declaring war within the first day on Berma. Avalot assembled an army quickly and met the Berman Army in the Baltic Hills before they could venture further into the farmlands and establish a foothold. Among these legions was a young Gunter Newgate.

At first, it appeared as if Avalot's superior numbers were enough to crush the insurrection until the Bermans retreated into the Baltic Hills in the winter of 625 AU. Thus began the so-called battles of the "Bloody Hills" as many of the Avalotian knights would call them. For five long years, Avalot lost thousands of troops attempting to remove the Bermans from the Hills. By 630 AU, Avalot had lost 9,000 men while Berma had only last 1,000 since their march through Farqual.

Both sides quickly realized that this stalemate wouldn't last forever with the Berman army running out of food and Avalot fearful they would run out of men. Fortunately, with Leon Dacre's passing, his son, Alric Dacre assumed the throne and quickly moved for peace talks with the Emperor. After negotiating for weeks, they agreed to end the war if Alric married the Emperor's daughter, Beatrice Narvineous. The terms were settled in Court in the winter of 630 AU and the wedding followed shortly after. Alric and his new wife attempted to strengthen the bonds with each other's nations with the help of his new righthand man, Captain Gunter Newgate. The Emperor, however, was still eager for increasing Berma's influence in the Eastern Territories.